I’m no Alix Earle, Sabrina Carpenter, or Taylor Swift. I’m not an influencer and will never claim to be. But I know what products I love and live by. I’m here to share a short roundup of some of my favorite unsexy products that may help your hygiene, skincare, makeup routine, career or academic life, organization and overall lifestyle. These are my tried and true, unaesthetic-but-kick-ass products that I want to share because they may help you too!
1. Deodorant and Antiperspirant 
My go-to deodorant has been tested against the summer Las Vegas and New Orleans seasons, and in each of these cities, I did not stink!! As someone who has a fear of smelling bad and is very conscious of how I smell (developing into a huge perfume addiction), I recommend using Dry Idea deodorant and antiperspirant. It’s not natural or alumni-free, so buyers beware, but I use it because a) I don’t sweat or stink when I use it and b) it’s super cheap and accessible. I’m talking $4 at Walgreens, people! I told you it’s unsexy and unaesthetic, but it works wonders!
2. Anti-Sweat Wipes
After this product, I promise I’ll give up on the anti-stink campaign, but I think that this is a true game-changer in the summers or before big events! Whether you’re getting married, dancing in a competition, hitting up the fraternity formal or the bars, or just want to not sweat a single drop, this is the holy grail! While it’s similar to the Dry Idea deodorant/antiperspirant, these SweatBlock wipes are not meant for everyday use, they’re complete sweat blockers for special events to be used sparingly. These are super accessible too- under $20 at Walmart! Again, unsexy but unbeatable!
3. Socks 
If I’m ever found dead without my socks, know they were stolen. I wear mine around the house and in bed- I know that’s controversial. But if you ever worn or owned a pair of Balega’s Hidden Comfort No-Show running socks, you would understand. They’re extremely comfortable and have a padded flap on the back for heel protection, but they’re still no-shows that are moisture-wicking and friction-reducing. I discovered these socks while running track and cross country in my middle school days and have worn them since. I still have some of those original pairs because they hold up SO WELL. As an avid dancer, runner, self-proclaimed gym rat, and constant mover, I need socks that hold up well while also maintaining their comfort. Again, some of these pairs of Balega socks are roughly 10 years old… yikes… but have no holes and are still incredibly soft. They’re a bit more of a long-term purchase with their price point and are harder to find in-store, but they’re worth it to me! Also, Belga donates a portion of all running sock sales to organizations such as The Ethembeni School for children with disabilities, Homes for Our Troops to help with housing for injured veterans and more. For me, the price point is not just worth it in the excellence of the product, but also in the mission of the brand. An unaesthetic sock or an unaesthetic product that I am loyal to for life. I typically buy mine on sale at Up & Running, a shout out to my home state of Ohio and its incredible running store chain, but they’re available on Amazon, REI, and most sportswear retailers for around $12 a pair.
4. SPF 
If you’re not wearing SPF every single day, at your grown age, I will jump out of your screen to lecture you. Wearing sun protection every single day is INCREDIBLY important. Forget the anti-aging benefits, I don’t care about those. You need to wear facial SPF every day, no matter the season, the sun, or the UV index to prevent skin cancer and sun spots. Members of my family have spent thousands of dollars on dermatologists, prescriptions, and laser procedures to help reduce sun spots that occurred because of not wearing SPF. Wear your darn facial sunscreen every single day. With my little rant over, here’s the SPF that I love. When choosing an SPF, be sure to pick one that is at least SPF 30, according to dermatologist recommendations, with zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. I use drugstore-level K-beauty facial sunscreen Skin Aqua Super Moisture Essence, which is SPF 50 and includes both key ingredients. For me, this sits nicely on my face, doesn’t pill or leave a white case, and is moisturizing. While I’m not sure if this is a “forever” brand or product for me, you must choose (and USE!) a facial sunscreen that is healthy and safe, and this is one I highly recommend.
5. Hypochlorous Acid Spray 
You may be familiar with hypochlorous acid spray because of Tik Tok or Tower28’s viral product, but I’m a little too broke-college-student and a little more unsexy-but-holy-grail to continuously rebuy Tower28. If you’re unfamiliar with the product or its chemistry, hypochlorous acid is a weak citric acid that is antimicrobial, meaning it kills germs and disinfects. Now don’t rush for your Lysol wipes, hypochlorous acids in skincare are incredibly diluted to mimic your skin’s natural creation of hypochlorous acid through white blood cells. This means that its recommended use is for fighting bacterial problems on your skin like acne, eczema, and psoriasis because it helps reduce inflammation, disinfect and kill bacteria, and speed up your skin’s natural healing process. While earlier I mentioned that I love the Tower28 SOS hypochlorous acid spray, you will NOT catch me paying $28 for 4 o.z. Instead, I opt for the unsexy, unaesthetic, smells-like-a-swimming-pool-but-is-incredible spray from e11ement at $16 for 8 o.z. on Amazon. That’s almost half the price for double the volume, but you can do the math. As a girl who used to be on prescription pills and topical creams for her acne with no improvements, this unsexy and unaesthetic spray has somehow saved my skin. And we don’t question or judge unsexy miracle products here.
6. Notion 
My professional and academic girlies unite! I love Notion, and the best thing about it is that it’s FREE. Did you hear that?! Free!! The catch about this organization product is that it’s a) a technology platform and not a tangible/physical product and b) something you may have to customize to fit your needs best. Here’s the link to Notion, and once you register/create an account you can set it up to organize your calendar(s), make to-do lists, track assignments, and more. You can make pages, subpages, etc., to stay organized by category! While everyone’s Notion looks different because you can transform it to fit your needs, there are also many, many templates that you can download or use in-platform to help get started! I highly recommend Notion because you can also access it on your phone, which is more than a physical calendar can say. Here’s my unsexy, unaesthetic Notion just for your viewing pleasure. Get yourself organized for your job, classes, and overall life with this un-sexy, DIY holy grail platform!
7. My Feed App 
Don’t laugh, I’m a public relations and advertising queen who runs social media for a living, but I run my Instagram page like the military. I want to study the data of what content performs the best, what times are followers most active, and what posts will look like before they’re published. Do I use this to “better” or “improve” my social media? I wish lol. But I don’t have the time nor energy enough to post frequently or stay active on the app- I use these insights and analytics more out of sheer curiosity. As I stated at the beginning of this roundup: I am not an influencer and do not want to be. But I do love planning to make a little Instagram post all the same, which is why I use the layout and preview app called My Feed, which allows you to preview your Instagram profile grid before you publish a post, archive a photo, etc. Mostly I use this to decide what photo will be the cover photo of a carousel post. It’s completely unsexy and unaesthetic to admit that I use an app to pre-plan social media vanity, but hey, I told you it’s a free-for-all all on the unsexy product roundup. The app is available for free on the iOS app store for all my curious social media queens.
8. Grammarly 
If you don’t already have Grammarly linked to your Google Account so that it populates on every Doc, Slides, Gmail, etc., then what the heck are you doing? Please say that you’ve been living under a rock and did not know that there was an add-on extension that could review your spelling, grammar, punctuation, clarity, etc. as you type. Grammarly gives suggestions for improvements as you write, meaning you don’t have to wait until a paper is done to hit “spell check” or until after an email is sent and have instant regret. I use Grammarly when writing my academic papers, professional papers, and even articles like this. I not only use it when writing my own work, but I also use it to review other articles as the Health & Wellness Section Editor for HerCampus Ball State. It’s unsexy, unaesthetic, and maybe uncool to admit how much I utilize Grammarly, but I know that it is an incredible product that deserves to be included in the roundup! Here’s how you can add Grammarly as an extension to your Google Account- it’s free!